Character Analysis
You won't find this motley crew alive and well in the story, but they're certainly on the pages of Vampire Academy. St. Vladimir is the patron saint of the school, and he and his trusty shadow-kissed sidekick, Anna, lived centuries ago. Ms. Karp, on the other hand, was one of Lissa and Rose's teachers before they ditched the academy.
So how are all of them connected? After a little research and a lot of reading, Rose discovers that St. Vladimir, Ms. Karp, and Lissa have a lot in common. They (1) didn't specialize in an element, (2) used compulsion, and (3) could heal people. Hmm… that doesn't sound like a coincidence to us.
When Rose tells Lissa about the similarities between her, Ms. Karp, and St. Vladimir, she's comforted and angry at the same time. Lissa is just like us (no, we can't bring people back from the dead… sorry)—we wants to believe there are people out there who are like us, that we fit in somewhere, and that's what Lissa is going through with her strange hocus pocus.
So on the one hand there is some relief for Lissa from knowing she's not alone in the world. But on the other hand, this whole being like a saint and a crazy person thing really bums Lissa out. They're not exactly your typical teenage idols, after all.
Neither of the girls really knows what to expect from the spirit element, but they have these examples before them to look to. Eventually, Lissa learns that in order to use her special powers, she has to literally gave up a piece of herself—that was a constant struggle for both St. Vladimir and Ms. Karp in dealing with their powers, too. Luckily, St. Vladimir gives her hope, because—with Anna's help—he was able to control his magic and life. So, Lissa just hopes she's able to keep her magical powers of spirit in check and not go bananas or Strigoi like Ms. Karp.